The present invention is generally directed to roof water dispersal systems such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,616 entitled "Rain Water Run-Off Disperser" issued on Feb. 24, 1976 to Richard L. Schapker, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,488 entitled "Rain Disperser System" issued to Lawrence C. Burns on Mar. 3, 1987. The disclosures of the aforementioned patents are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
A roof water dispersal system of the general type to which the present invention is directed includes a plurality of longitudinal dispersal elements or slats which are oriented to extend in a direction parallel to the drip edge of a roof structure. The assembly includes one or more cross members which intersect the slats in a transverse direction for assembling the slats into a unit and for maintaining a predetermined angular orientation and spacing between individual slats. The assembled unit is mounted to either the roof structure itself or a vertical wall of a building structure such that the plurality of parallel slats are positioned relative to the drip edge of the roof to receive, to deflect, and to disperse streams of run-off water flowing downwardly from the roof.
The roof water disperser systems of the aforementioned type are intended to replace conventional rain gutters. As more fully discussed in the above referenced prior art, rain gutters are expensive to install, require continuous maintenance to remove leaves and other debris which accumulate in the channels, and divert roof run-off water into relatively large streams which impact against the same area or areas of the underlying terrain with a damaging and corrosive effect. On the contrary, rain dispersal systems employing parallel slats may be installed on either new or pre-existing structures, and require virtually no maintenance subsequent to installation. Moreover, run-off roof water is dispersed by the multiple-slat assembly over a wide range of terrain extending along the entire roof edge, thereby avoiding any damaging and corrosive effect on the underlying terrain which would otherwise result from the impact of high velocity streams of unimpeded run-off water.
Notwithstanding the benefits and the advantages of the roof-water dispersal systems disclosed by the above prior art over conventional rain gutters, there still exist areas in which the overall efficiency of a "slat type" dispersal system can be improved. The known dispersal systems did not address slat thickness as a performance variable. Now it has been discovered that thinner slats provide a better dispersal effect, and a roof water dispersal system may be assembled to employ such thinner slats in selected positions of the assembly where optimum dispersion characteristics are most desirable.
The known roof water dispersal systems comprise either flat slats or bent slats. However, a rain disperser assembly including at least some partially or fully curved slats will improve the dispersion characteristics and efficiency of the overall assembly.
The known dispersal systems employ identical slats of uniform thickness formed from aluminum. Although U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,488 suggests the possibility of substituting plastic, this prior art clearly does not represent or suggest the advantages obtained from the use of a plastic material of the present invention as more fully described herein.
Transverse cross members of the known dispersal systems, which are necessary to adequately maintain a predetermined spacing between slats and to maintain each slat at a predetermined angle of orientation relative to the horizontal, adversely affect the dispersion characteristic of the assembly at regions of intersection with the longitudinal slats. Dispersion efficiency can be improved by both redesigning the cross-members (e.g., spacer elements, brackets), and/or providing means for diverting the flow of roof water to avoid impact on the assembly at the regions in which the cross-members intersect the longitudinally extending slats.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved roof run-off water dispersal system of the type employing a plurality of longitudinally extending dispersal elements oriented parallel to the drip edge of the roof. The improvements to the dispersal characteristics and overall dispersion efficiency of the system result from, among other things, an assembly comprising one or more slats having a thickness less than other slats in the assembly; an assembly including one or more slats having a configuration different from other slats in the assembly; an assembly comprising slats formed from different materials; an assembly combining slats of different thickness, shape, material, and/or variable cross-section/thickness; an assembly including a weir for diverting run-off water from regions in which cross members intersect slats; and an assembly in which the cross-members are designed and/or oriented to reduce their negative effect on the dispersion characteristic and efficiency of the overall dispersal system. Other objects and improvements of roof water disperser systems in accordance with the present invention will become apparent from the following discussion.